A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Unscheduled ship maintenance, known as voyage repairs, is a high priority for the U.S. Navy. Such repairs are sometimes beyond the capability of the ship's crew to perform; cannot be deferred; and must be made at a remote location. After the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended closing the former Naval Ship Repair Facility, Guam, the Navy leased the property at that facility to the Guam Economic Development and Commerce Authority, which sub-leased the property to a private shipyard. DOD has since begun planning for a military buildup on Guam. In January 2007 the Navy recommended allowing the private shipyard's lease on Navy land to expire in 2012. Consequently, the House Armed Services Committee asked GAO to determine the extent to which the Navy has (1) identified future ship repair requirements at Guam, and (2) identified and assessed options to address those requirements. GAO reviewed documents related to ship maintenance and interviewed officials affiliated with private contractors, the Guam government, the Marine Corps, Military Sealift Command, and the Navy in conducting this review."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 1995, GAO designated Department of Defense (DOD) business systems modernization as a high-risk program, and the program remains on the high-risk list today. A key to successful systems modernization is having and using an enterprise architecture as an authoritative frame of reference, or blueprint, for system investment decisions. To assist DOD in modernizing its business systems, Congress passed legislation consistent with prior GAO recommendations for DOD to develop and implement a business enterprise architecture (BEA). In response, DOD developed a corporate BEA that it intends to federate, or extend, to the military departments and defense agencies. To support GAO's legislative mandate to review DOD's BEA, GAO evaluated the status of the Air Force, Navy, and Army architecture programs. To accomplish this, GAO used its Enterprise Architecture Management Maturity Framework and associated evaluation method."

This report provides a short overview of Canada's political scene, its economic conditions, and its recent security and foreign policy, focusing particularly on issues that may be relevant to U.S. policymakers. This brief country survey is followed by several summaries of current bilateral issues in the political, trade, and environmental arenas.

Concern has existed for years that the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), a complex of nuclear weapons research and support facilities, has released polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to the environment that may have reached adjacent bodies of water through canyons that connect them. In 1997, LANL's Ecology Group began measuring PCBs in fish in the Rio Grande upstream and downstream of ephemeral streams that cross LANL and later began sampling fish in Abiquiu and Cochiti reservoirs, which are situated on the Rio Chama and Rio Grande upstream and downstream of LANL, respectively. In 2002, we electroshocked channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) and common carp (Carpiodes carpio) in the Rio Grande upstream and downstream of LANL and analyzed fillets for PCB congeners. We also sampled soils along the Rio Chama and Rio Grande drainages to discern whether a background atmospheric source of PCBs that could impact surface water adjacent to LANL might exist. Trace concentrations of PCBs measured in soil (mean = 4.7E-05 {micro}g/g-ww) appear to be from background global atmospheric sources, at least in part, because the bimodal distribution of low-chlorinated PCB congeners and mid-chlorinated PCB congeners in the soil samples is interpreted to be typical of volatilized PCB congeners that are …

The lack of efficient scintillators is a major problem for developing powerful x-ray detectors that are widely used in homeland security, industrial and scientific research. Intematix has developed and applied a high throughput screening process and corresponding crystal growth technology to significantly speed up the discovery process for new efficient scintillators. As a result, Intematix has invented and fabricated three new scintillators both in powder and bulk forms, which possess promising properties such as better radiation hardness and better matching for silicon diode.

Slide presentation only - No abstract supplied

In this work we report on thevacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) photoionization of small methanol and methanol-water clusters. Clusters of methanol with water are generated via co-expansion of the gas phase constituents in a continuous supersonic jet expansion of methanol and water seeded in Ar. The resulting clusters are investigated by single photon ionization with tunable vacuumultraviolet synchrotron radiation and mass analyzed using reflectron mass spectrometry. Protonated methanol clusters of the form (CH3OH)nH + (n=1-12) dominate the mass spectrum below the ionization energy of the methanol monomer. With an increase in water concentration, small amounts of mixed clusters of the form (CH3OH)n(H2O)H + (n=2-11) are detected. The only unprotonated species observed in this work are the methanol monomer and dimer. Appearance energies are obtained from the photoionization efficiency (PIE) curves for CH3OH +, (CH 3OH)2 +, (CH3OH)nH + (n=1-9), and (CH 3OH)n(H2O)H + (n=2-9 ) as a function of photon energy. With an increase in the water content in the molecular beam, there is an enhancement of photoionization intensity for methanol dimer and protonated methanol monomer at threshold. These results are compared and contrasted to previous experimental observations.

This report provides the final hazard categorization for the remediation of six 300-FF-2 Operable Unit Burial Grounds, the 618-1, 618-2, 618-3, 618-7, 618-8, and 618-13 sites.

In this paper, we compare constructed records of concentrations of black carbon (BC)--an indicator of anthropogenic aerosols--with observed surface temperature trends in California. Annual average BC concentrations in major air basins in California significantly decreased after about 1990, coincident with an observed statewide surface temperature increase. Seasonal aerosol concentration trends are consistent with observed seasonal temperature trends. These data suggest that the reduction in anthropogenic aerosol concentrations contributed to the observed surface temperature increase. Conversely, high aerosol concentrations may lower surface temperature and partially offset the temperature increase of greenhouse gases.

Presentation prepared for the May 12, 2008 Alternative Fuels and Vehicles Conference that describes DOE's current hydrogen fuel cell technology validation projects.

The recent development of methods for extracting precise measurements of spatial gene expression patterns from three-dimensional (3D) image data opens the way for new analyses of the complex gene regulatory networks controlling animal development. We present an integrated visualization and analysis framework that supports user-guided data clustering to aid exploration of these new complex datasets. The interplay of data visualization and clustering-based data classification leads to improved visualization and enables a more detailed analysis than previously possible. We discuss (i) integration of data clustering and visualization into one framework; (ii) application of data clustering to 3D gene expression data; (iii) evaluation of the number of clusters k in the context of 3D gene expression clustering; and (iv) improvement of overall analysis quality via dedicated post-processing of clustering results based on visualization. We discuss the use of this framework to objectively define spatial pattern boundaries and temporal profiles of genes and to analyze how mRNA patterns are controlled by their regulatory transcription factors.

This report summarizes the reasons for Endangered Species Act (ESA) listings and outlines efforts to protect ESA-listed species.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Authority of a multi-jurisdictional library district to assess and collect ad valorem taxes (RQ-0648-GA)

We present the design and performance of a home-built high-pressure and high-temperature reactor equipped with a high-resolution scanning tunneling microscope (STM) for catalytic studies. In this design, the STM body, sample, and tip are placed in a small high pressure reactor ({approx}19 cm{sup 3}) located within an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) chamber. A sealable port on the wall of the reactor separates the high pressure environment in the reactor from the vacuum environment of the STM chamber and permits sample transfer and tip change in UHV. A combination of a sample transfer arm, wobble stick, and sample load-lock system allows fast transfer of samples and tips between the preparation chamber, high pressure reactor, and ambient environment. This STM reactor can work as a batch or flowing reactor at a pressure range of 10{sup -13} to several bars and a temperature range of 300-700 K. Experiments performed on two samples both in vacuum and in high pressure conditions demonstrate the capability of in situ investigations of heterogeneous catalysis and surface chemistry at atomic resolution at a wide pressure range from UHV to a pressure higher than 1 atm.

There are many soil contamination sites at the Department of Energy (DOE) installations that contain radionuclides and toxic metals such as uranium (U), technetium (Tc), and chromium (Cr). Since these contaminants are the main 'risk drivers' at the Hanford site (WA) and some of them also pose significant risk at other DOE facilities (e.g., Oak Ridge Reservation - TN; Rocky Flats - CO), development of technologies for cost effective site remediation is needed. Current assessment indicates that complete removal of these contaminants for ex-situ disposal is infeasible, thus in-situ stabilization through reduction to insoluble species is considered one of the most important approaches for site remediation. In Situ Gaseous Reduction (ISGR) is a technology developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for vadose zone soil remediation. The ISGR approach uses hydrogen sulfide (H{sub 2}S) for reductive immobilization of contaminants that show substantially lower mobility in their reduced forms (e.g., Tc, U, and Cr). The technology can be applied in two ways: (i) to immobilize or stabilize pre-existing contaminants in the vadose zone soils by direct H{sub 2}S treatment, or (ii) to create a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) that prevents the migration of contaminants. Direct treatment involves reduction of the contaminants …

The siderophore enterobactin (Ent) is produced by enteric bacteria to mediate iron uptake. Ent scavenges iron and is taken up by the bacteria as the highly stable ferric complex [Fe{sup III}(Ent)]{sup 3-}. This complex is also a specific target of the mammalian innate immune system protein, Siderocalin (Scn), which acts as an anti-bacterial agent by specifically sequestering siderophores and their ferric complexes during infection. Recent literature suggesting that Scn may also be involved in cellular iron transport has increased the importance of understanding the mechanism of siderophore interception and clearance by Scn; Scn is observed to release iron in acidic endosomes and [Fe{sup III}(Ent)]{sup 3-} is known to undergo a change from catecholate to salicylate coordination in acidic conditions, which is predicted to be sterically incompatible with the Scn binding pocket (also referred to as the calyx). To investigate the interactions between the ferric Ent complex and Scn at different pH values, two recombinant forms of Scn with mutations in three residues lining the calyx were prepared: Scn-W79A/R81A and Scn-Y106F. Binding studies and crystal structures of the Scn-W79A/R81A:[Fe{sup III}(Ent)]{sup 3-} and Scn-Y106F:[Fe{sup III}(Ent)]{sup 3-} complexes confirm that such mutations do not affect the overall conformation of the protein but do …

This report discusses the resident fish, such as bull trout and Kootenai River white sturgeon, which are listed as threatened and endangered respectively under the ESA are affected by the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS). This report focuses on Endangered Species Act (ESA) actions and litigation related to these species.

This report provides an overview of the statutory framework, key players, infrastructure, resources, tools, and operations associated with enforcement and compliance of the major pollution control laws and regulations administered by EPA. It also outlines the roles of federal (including regional offices) and state regulators, as well as the regulated community.

This report provides an overview of U.S.-China economic relations, surveys major trade disputes, and lists major legislation in the 110th that seeks to address these issues.

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The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Oliver Schaetter. Schaetter joined the Navy in December 1943 and was immediately selected as a pharmacist’s mate due to his civilian experience as an embalmer. He received training at Balboa Park sick bay and recalls comforting a shell-shocked soldier who had hidden under his bunk during a fireworks display. In December 1944 Schaetter was assigned to the USS Goshen (APA-108), which functioned as a third-class hospital ship as well as a troop carrier. He saw burials at sea at every stop in the South Pacific and felt they were extremely dignified events. When one of his own patients died at sea, the pharmacist improvised an embalming fluid so that the soldier could later be given a land burial on Saipan. After the war, Schaetter treated civilians and military personnel alike at a hospital in the Philippines. While there, he hypnotized and administered a truth serum to a guard who committed crimes against natives. Schaetter returned home in March 1946.

Daily newspaper from Altus, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Oliver Schaetter. Schaetter joined the Navy in December 1943 and was immediately selected as a pharmacist’s mate due to his civilian experience as an embalmer. He received training at Balboa Park sick bay and recalls comforting a shell-shocked soldier who had hidden under his bunk during a fireworks display. In December 1944 Schaetter was assigned to the USS Goshen (APA-108), which functioned as a third-class hospital ship as well as a troop carrier. He saw burials at sea at every stop in the South Pacific and felt they were extremely dignified events. When one of his own patients died at sea, the pharmacist improvised an embalming fluid so that the soldier could later be given a land burial on Saipan. After the war, Schaetter treated civilians and military personnel alike at a hospital in the Philippines. While there, he hypnotized and administered a truth serum to a guard who committed crimes against natives. Schaetter returned home in March 1946.

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